Ed Hale is still running First Mariner Bank, but you can’t tell that from the bank’s TV ads.

The plain-talking Dundalk native whose name and voice are synonymous with Baltimore’s biggest independent bank — the bank he built for you — is gone from First Mariner’s TV spots. Hale has been benched in favor of Ravens star quarterback Joe Flacco.

Hale’s exit from the small screen comes as struggling First Mariner raises money to recapitalize itself. The bank is under orders from bank regulators to boost capital levels. To make that happen, Hale, First Mariner’s CEO and founder, engineered a deal with New York hedge fund Priam Capital to pump $36 million into the bank. The deal, slated to close Oct. 16, is contingent on Hale raising another $124 million from other investors. Hale has agreed to step down if the deal goes through.

Even with Hale still in the corner suite of First Mariner’s Canton office tower, ad watchers can notice the changes.

Gone are the TV spots in which Hale sings the praises of his hometown bank, where lending decisions are made right here in Bawlmer, rather than in some faraway boardroom in Buffalo, or, heaven forbid, Pittsburgh. Instead the ads feature a solo Flacco, the Ravens’ popular quarterback. A massive billboard gracing First Mariner Arena, which carries the bank’s name and where Hale’s Baltimore Blast indoor soccer team plays, shows Flacco in helmet and uniform. The QB is poised as if ready to toss a touchdown pass.

“Baltimore’s Quarterback. Baltimore’s Bank,” the ad reads.

Hale was a successful pitchman for his bank, said Roger Gray, CEO of Baltimore ad agency GKV.

“Until they ran into the financial issues that many independent banks face, it was a very effective communications strategy,” said Gray, whose agency has several banks as clients. It once worked for Bank of Baltimore, when Hale ran it.

Whether Hale’s successor — whomever that might be — follows him onto First Mariner’s ads will depend on that person’s appeal and comfort level in front of the camera.

“The new CEO may not have the personality and may not be able to carry it off,” said John Mathes, a bank branding expert with Bancography, a consulting firm in Atlanta.

Highlighting Hale’s successor in ads also could backfire by trumpeting that big changes are taking place at First Mariner at a time when the bank wants to show consumers it’s sailing a steady course, Mathes said. And if the new CEO isn’t as comfortable on screen as Hale, that could also make consumers think he doesn’t measure up.

Not every bank CEO wants to be on camera. Bay Bank CEO Kevin Cashen, for example, has not been featured in his bank’s print or radio ads and has no plans to appear.

“Ed’s a persona,” Cashen said. “Most bank CEOs aren’t as well known in the broader community. It’s not in our plans to go that path.”

New ads are missing Hale

Meanwhile, First Mariner executives aren’t disclosing much about what the bank’s advertising might look like in a post-Hale era. Hale could not be reached for comment.

But the exact look of any new ad campaign is something that will be on the next CEO’s to-do list, said Dennis Finnegan, the bank’s executive vice president.

“It’s really not buttoned-down yet at this point,” Finnegan said. “When we have the new investors, and somebody will be coming in to fill Ed’s role, there are a lot of things that will need to be determined.”

Finnegan said there are no plans at this point for First Mariner to use an outside ad agency to create its ads. The bank has done the work in-house for the past three years.

Finnegan declined to say whether Flacco will play a more prominent role in First Mariner’s ad strategy if Hale steps down. He also would not discuss the financial terms of the bank’s contract with Flacco.

“That’s between us and Joe,” Finnegan said.

Joe Linta, Flacco’s agent, said First Mariner hasn’t approached Flacco about doing additional TV ads or taking a more prominent role in its advertising. Flacco has a six-figure deal with First Mariner, Linta said. The QB may be interested in stepping up his role for the bank, but that would have to wait until the football season is over.

“What you see now is what we’re on board with,” Linta said. “He’s really focused on football. These are the kind of things he’s very low-key about.”

There’s a risk for First Mariner in building an ad campaign around Flacco, or any other celebrity. If the celebrity runs into front-page trouble, that could tarnish the company’s own reputation, said Matt Doud, president of Planit, a Baltimore ad agency that works with Bay Bank and Northern Virginia’s Burke & Herbert Bank.

“We’ve all seen the problems celebrity endorsers have had, whether it’s Lindsay Lohan or a sports figure who gets himself in trouble,” Doud said. “Sometimes that person is fantastic, and sometimes they do things that aren’t good for the brand.”

In a football-crazed town like Baltimore, even a poor season on the field could hurt Flacco’s popularity and make him a less effective spokesman for the bank.

In Baltimore, there’s another wrinkle to consider, Doud said. Flacco plays for the Ravens. The team has a high-profile sponsorship deal with M&T Bank. Its name is on the Ravens’ stadium. Because of that connection, when some fans see an ad with Flacco, they might jump to thinking of M&T, not First Mariner, Doud said.

Pitfall of celebrity pitchmen

While many say using Hale in First Mariner ads was effective, John Patterson, the executive creative director at Owings Mills’ MGH isn’t so sure.

As CEO, Hale may have built First Mariner. But despite Hale’s up-by-his-bootstraps beginnings, he achieved the kind of wealth and prominence few folks waiting in a First Mariner teller line can relate to, Patterson said.

“He may live here, but he doesn’t live like most of his customers,” Patterson said. Instead, Patterson said the bank’s next round of ads should address the concerns of its middle-class customers. Customers want to know whether they will they be able to get a bank loan from First Mariner to start a business or buy their first home.

“The takeaway is we understand, we can get you through it,” said Patterson, who crafted K Bank’s “Power of K” ad campaign. “I think First Mariner still has a shot at being the big local bank, but they need to get away from this idea of a celebrity endorser.”